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We filled in as emergency babysitting for a bare handful of hours today for Wax's brother. The triplets are now 6 and their sister 9, and they not only entertained themselves the whole time, they were almost completely invisible to us, except when rushing by with a very important air on some urgent mission to, for example, get the scissors or a plastic bag for an urgent art project. We barely heard a peep from them except for the horrible music they were playing over the sound system linked to the computer.
I had to get ready to leave the house well before 11 am and we didn't get home until 7 in the evening (we spent the rest of the day there and had dinner and dessert, even after they came back), but in spite of spending all day away, there was no stress or anxiety associated with being away from home. Of course, it's easier in familiar places, I've never forgotten that, but most familiar places aren't actually familiar enough to have no anxiety.
I feel at home in my aunts' and uncles' houses and my parents', but they're on the other side of the Atlantic. Wax's mom's and local brother's place are the only locations in Finland that that's true of - and if her mom is there too, a day at hers isn't stress-free because she expects us to work whenever we come. Wax's brother's place is different. They have an enormous, two-storey living room and its wall of windows filled it with sunlight today (ours fills up with light in the summer, but winter's when you really need it). Their sofa is large and comfortable. Until the parents came back, the kids were quiet. I spent the day drowsing and reading hobbit fic on my my phone in the sunlight and sleepily sipping tea - probably more relaxing than had I been at home, simply because I always want to sit in the sun if possible, and at home, it isn't.
It was nice to be reminded. Usually any time I have to leave the house on the weekend, I end up feeling like I've been cheated of some of my relaxation time, but now it's quite the opposite. Since I wasn't at home, I didn't even feel guilty about the backlog of laundry and dishes.
I had to get ready to leave the house well before 11 am and we didn't get home until 7 in the evening (we spent the rest of the day there and had dinner and dessert, even after they came back), but in spite of spending all day away, there was no stress or anxiety associated with being away from home. Of course, it's easier in familiar places, I've never forgotten that, but most familiar places aren't actually familiar enough to have no anxiety.
I feel at home in my aunts' and uncles' houses and my parents', but they're on the other side of the Atlantic. Wax's mom's and local brother's place are the only locations in Finland that that's true of - and if her mom is there too, a day at hers isn't stress-free because she expects us to work whenever we come. Wax's brother's place is different. They have an enormous, two-storey living room and its wall of windows filled it with sunlight today (ours fills up with light in the summer, but winter's when you really need it). Their sofa is large and comfortable. Until the parents came back, the kids were quiet. I spent the day drowsing and reading hobbit fic on my my phone in the sunlight and sleepily sipping tea - probably more relaxing than had I been at home, simply because I always want to sit in the sun if possible, and at home, it isn't.
It was nice to be reminded. Usually any time I have to leave the house on the weekend, I end up feeling like I've been cheated of some of my relaxation time, but now it's quite the opposite. Since I wasn't at home, I didn't even feel guilty about the backlog of laundry and dishes.
